E-News - 8 July 2020

ALARA News

Research into Strategic Direction of Action Learning / Acton Research

Members received an email advising of the research initiated by Dr Susan Goff (former President of ALARA and former Managing Editor) of publications publishing papers that discuss action research methodology. The aim of this research is to discover:

• What has been done / where have we been / who has funded the work or helped us get to where we are now?
  
   


• Where is the world evolving and what parts of that evolution will action research influence / help?


 

If you would like to assist Susan in her research, which involves analysing publications that have articles about action research methodology, please contact ALARA at admin [at] alarassociation.org.

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Ethics Committee Guide

Several members responded to the call in the last e-News about the development of a guide for Master and Doctoral students in managing the approval process for Ethics Committees at their university. Thank you to those who have offered their assistance. Dr Pam Carey would welcome further assistance in preparing this guide that will include information, examples and stories of success in navigating the Ethics Committee process. Please contact ALARA at admin [at] alarassociation.org.

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Exploration of Students or New Researchers' Understanding of Action Research

The following request from an ALARA member is also likely to create interest amongst members (and beyond).

Hi, I am Diana Austin, a senior lecturer at Victoria University, New Zealand. Having completed my doctorate using Action Research and subsequently undertaking further projects and supervision of students using AR, I am interested in exploring what helps students or new researchers understand the methodology. I am looking for people in other areas, who may be interested in joining me to undertake a study on what shifts in thinking occur, and what facilitated these shifts, as researchers become action researchers. A mix of focus groups and individual interviews would be used to explore the ‘ah ha’ or key learning moments for action researchers, as they developed their AR understanding. Participants, who are both new and experience in AR, would be invited. The qualitative data will be analysed and presented as themes that will be tested by further action researchers.

If this is something that interests you or you know of a study that has already explored this area please contact me on diana.austin@vuw.ac.nz.

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Meeting of Editorial Boards of AL / AR Publications

The initial outcome of the meetings with Editorial Boards is a list of participating publications, which is located on the ALARA website, and will be included on the listed publications websites.

If you know of an AL / AR publication that should be involved in this group, please contact admin [at] alarassocation.org with details of the appropriate person to contact.

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ALARA Publications Online

ALARA is now able to offer its publications in a variety of forms, and via several methods

• Previously printed copies of some journals, monographs and other publications for $40.00 for a Journal, $20.00 for a Monograph and $60.00 for a book, with no additional fee for standard postage, which is a saving over purchasing directly from a print-on-demand service. Faster postage is available at an additional cost.
  
  The list of publications and the process for purchasing them can be found on the ALARA website.


• Print-on-demand copies of all Monographs and all issues of the Action Learning and Action Research Journal from Volume 20 (2014) ordered via IngramSpark. If you would like to order a copy, please contact admin [at] alarassociation.org.


• ALARA publications are also available via large online distributors, such as Amazon and Book Depository.


• Electronic copies of the Journal and Monographs are available on the ALARA website. Members can access these copies soon after they are published, while non-members can access them about twelve months later. See here for Monographs, and here for Journals.


• Abstracts of the articles in each volume of the Journal since Volume 17 No 2 (2011) are available to the general public, while members have access to the full content of all articles on the Journal website (we are planning to upgrade this site during this year - more information to come).


• ALARA supplies copies of the Action Learning and Action Research Journal to Informit and EBSCO for loading in their search sites, where the public can access individual articles. Members can access the Informit site free of charge after logging into the ALARA site - more details here.


 

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Submissions for Publications

Eileen Piggot-Irvine, our Monographs Editor, welcomes submission of Monographs by emailing the editor. For further information please see the Monograph submission guidelines.

ALARA has published the Action Learning and Action Research Journal for 24 years, and you are invited to submit papers for the 2020 issues. Please visit the ALARj on the Journal website or see the submission guidelines on ALARA's website for more information.

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Administation Assistance Requested

Action Learning, Action Research Association Ltd is seeking assistance in three roles, which could be performed by one, two or three people. These roles are Minute Secretary, Membership Administrator and Administration Support.

• Minute Secretary: The Minute Secretary may attend meetings of the Board (usually 11 per year), and does attend meetings of the Committees Group (between 6 and 10 per year) and the Annual General Meeting.


• Membership Administrator: The Membership Administrator supports the Membership Co-ordinator, Publications Co-ordinator and Committees Group on all matters related to the management of the ALARA membership.


• Administration Support: The Administration Support supports the Board on all matters related to the general administration of ALARA.


 

Each role requires between about 2 and 10 hours per month. A full description of the work is available here. ALARA will consider applicants in a volunteer or paid capacity.

ALARA also have a number of important initiatives for which we are seeking assistance. These initiatives include developing a marketing plan, helping to create local networks or conversation events in any location where members wish to meet, approaching organisations that utilise Action Learning / Action Research that may wish to support ALARA and its activities, and developing relationships with organisations that will provide benefits to members and the wider Action Learning / Action Research community. A description of the initiatives is available here.

If you would like to discuss these roles or initiatives, or would like to undertake one or more of them, please contact ALARA (admin@alarassociation.org or president@alarassociation.org).

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2015 World Congress Proceedings

ALARA has published the 9th Action Learning, Action Research and 13th Participatory Action Research 2015 World Congress Proceedings. Please see ALARA's website for more information.

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Join ALARA social media platforms and contribute your action learning/action research news

ALARA is active on social media. You can read about ALARA activities and learn about new resources and innovations via Twitter @alaraevents or the Facebook group, ‘Action Learning Action Research Association Inc. (ALARA)’. There is also a LinkedIn group for students (and their supervisors) using action learning or action research, see: ALARA Tertiary Education Community Private Group. We invite you to ask questions, make comments or share your work with us all. See you there!

Other Events and Information

Program Management Seminar - online 26-28 August 2020

The CEEMAN Program Management Seminar, will now be conducted virtually on 26 - 28 August 2020 (part 1) and 15 - 16 October 2020 (part 2). See here for more information.

CEEMAN also offer several webinars and other online events about teaching, learning and management education - see their webiste for more information.

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Canadian Journal of Action Research Special Issue

The CJAR has announced a call for submissions for a special theme issue: Action Research and Indigenous Ways of Knowing. Submissions close on 1 October 2020. A flyer about the call is available here.

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28th CEEMAN Annual Conference - 23-25 September 2020

The conference is now re-schedule for September 2020 as an online and face-to-face event in Bled, Slovenia, and registrations have opened. Its title is Ideas and Inspiration for Management Development from Fields Beyond Management. To find out more about the conference click here.

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PRIA Online Courses

PRIA International Academy is offering several online courses commencing in June. See their online courses here.

PRIA continues to produce its Youth Newsletter. The latest, Issue 11, is available here.

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International Management Teachers Academy

The International Association for Management Development in Dynamic Societies has rescheduled the International Management Teachers Academy to June 2021 in beautiful Bled, Slovenia. Please see here for more information.

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AR+ Co-Labs

AR+ Foundation is conducting a Relational Action Inquiry Co-lab, which commenced in May 2020. Check here for more information and to join the monthly meetings.

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EURAM 2020 Conference - The Business of Now

The 2020 conference of EURAM (European Academy of Management) will be held in Dublin Ireland but has been rescheduled to 4-6 December 2020. The theme is The Business of Now: the future starts here. More information is available here.